Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg Drop a Collaborative NFT to Benefit Press Freedom

Government whistleblowers and political activists Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg have launched a unique NFT collection. The piece, titled “Wouldn’t You Go to Prison to Help End This War?”, goes for auction at PleasrHouse. 

PleasrHouse is a digital live-streamed auction from PleasrDAO that hosts the auction of the NFTs. To clarify, the NFT collection is on the Ethereum network. Let’s take a closer look at this unique digital collectible.

It is public information that Edward Snowden is no stranger to the blockchain. In April 2021, the political activist sold a digital collectible titled “Stay Free”. The NFT sold for 2,224 ETH ($5.5 million at the time). PleasrDAO purchased this asset, and this was the first time that the two entities came into contact with each other. The latest digital art piece titled “Wouldn’t You Go to Prison to Help End This War?” is the next NFT launch by Snowden, this time in collaboration with fellow activist Daniel Ellsberg.

The second NFT marks two years since Edward Snowden’s last NFT sale, and will go into auction via a live stream hosted by PleasrDAO. The proceeds of the NFT sale will help to fund Snowden and Ellsberg’s respective causes.

PleasrHouse announced the NFT launch via a captivating video on their official Twitter channel. The ~1-minute video sees Edward Snowden pay tribute to Daniel Ellsberg, who in the 1970s leaked 7,000 pages of top secret information known as the ‘Pentagon Papers’. Therefore, the NFT is also an art piece memorializing Daniel Ellsberg.

The first episode of the live stream will air at 3PM EST on January 12, 2022. This episode also features the auction of their new digital asset. On this auction, Chris Eberle, Head of Marketing at PleasrDAO said:  “We had been working on a Web3 auction house, and this piece was a perfect fit for the inaugural episode.”

Furthermore, the digital asset also features moments from Ellsberg’s life. This includes footage of him in an interview given in 1971, from the Boston Courthouse. Incidentally, this was also the place where Daniel Ellsberg turned himself in to the authorities. Furthermore, the proceeds of this NFT sale will go towards Edward Snowden’s The Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy. In the days leading to the launch, PleasrDAO tweeted “The revolutionar𝒾𝑒𝓈 will be televised.” .

Web3 is a great tool for social good and the welfare of the people. PleasrHouse aims to expand the fight against government corruption with the power of the blockchain. Moreover, there are even more episodes to drop in the near future.